Whew! With nine minutes to go the tenacious Italy were threatening to blow away the Wallabies chances of a victory when Quade Cooper played his sensational cameo role to win the Test for Australia.
Here is the Boy’s Own scenario facing Cooper. He has had a flightly first-class rugby career since coming into the Queensland Reds as a brilliant youngster. There are suspicions that he got his call to the Wallaby colours because he was born in New Zealand, and therefore eligible to play, if selected of course, for the All Blacks.
Sitting on the reserves bench he had watched the Wallabies try unsuccessfully for 71 minutes to shake off the persistent, well-coached (the South African master Nick Mallett) Azzurri. A few minutes before the Azzurri had missed an eminently kickable penalty to go into a 23 – 20 lead. Then the call comes from the coach, Robbie Deans, to take the field and make something happen.
The Wallabies get field position about 30m out from their opponent’s tryline. Matt Giteau, who played as if he hasn’t really recovered from his hammering in Hong Kong, set up an old Crusaders move involving a pass behind two forwards standing flat to an elusive running back.
Cooper broke wide, found a gap, raced through it, and then like a downhill skier swerving through the poles speed around and inside the mass covering defence. Try! Under the posts! Test saved.
Another penalty goal by Giteau gave the flattering scoreline of 30 -20. But it was a close-run thing, which raises the question: What went wrong with the Wallabies?
There is, of course, the matter of travelling from Hong Kong to Italy and having to play a Test against a strong and skillful Italian pack, one of the strongest in Test rugby, within seven days.
But this can hardly be offered as an excuse. We have to look at the Wallaby pack. They were frequently beaten to the ruck and maul by the Italians. This raises the matter of Phil Waugh as a starter. My feeling that whatever use he has now for the Wallabies, if any, must be off the bench as a type of closer-player.
The Wallaby scrum that the British scribes are pointing to as the weakness that will give England a victory at Twickenham had a mixed day, good at times and at other times it was overpowered.
The pack in general again conceded too many penalties for going off their feet. This time a northern hemisphere referee could not be blamed. Bryce Lawrence is a NZer and he found the same faults as Alan Lewis did last week.
The backs, especially early on when Berrick Barnes was at first five-eights, made a number of gaps with Stirling Mortlock, Timana Tahu and Digby Ioane smashing through the strong Italian defence. But there did not seem to be any fluency in converting the line-breaks to tries.
And once again, the back three (perhaps Ioane was an exception) showed a reluctance to run the ball back at the Azzurri, a team that defends solidly from set pieces but can be exposed when play fractures and the defensive line.
Talking about Tahu, who went off injured, there were problems once again with his defence against seemingly simple attacks down his defensive channel. The first Italian try was scored when a straightforward backline attack went right through Tahu’s sector with the centre shaking his head in bewilderment, rather like Al Baxter does when he picks himself off the ground after conceding another scrum penalty.
Waugh and Tahu won’t be playing against England, which leaves the set pieces for the Wallabies to worry about. The British rugby writers are adamant that a scrum-led England attack will demolish the Wallabies, despite the fact that England’s scrum and general forward play was less than impressive against a poor but game Pacific Islands side.
‘Unless England can add hard-core forwards in all three rows,’ Stephen Jones writes in The Sunday Times, ‘then they will simply be over-powered by at least two of the three South Hemisphere teams lying in wait for them.’
You don’t have to be a genius to work out who is the odd southern hemisphere team out of three: the Wallabies.
The best things about winning in an unattractive and unconvincing way as the Wallabies did against the Azzurri is that a win is a win as far as the records are concerned, and the team gets a chance to start again next week and play to a better potential than what it revealed on Saturday.
Hopefully Cooper won’t be required to produce another flash of winning magic. But I suppose there is some comfort in the fact that having done this once, he should be able to do it again.
Benjamin
Guest
Homer, if that style is over then how did SA beat Wales? The All Blacks counter attacked against Scotland because the game was suited to it. They also counter attacked in the first two games of the 3N realised it was not appropriate and then didn't do it anymore. They won the 3N. Wales didn't falter at the WC because their skill levels weren't up to it. Quite the opposite. Let's not forget that they won a Grand Slam (and another since) through their back play and further, it was only the Welsh players who came out of the Lions 05 tour with any credit. Their backs also looked twice as dangerous as the SA backs and that was with three of their starting backs missing: Phillips, Henson and Jones. Wales faltered at the WC because they attempted to run anything and had no balance to their game. The same applies to Fiji. Had they a fly half better equpped than Nicky Little they could well have beaten SA, as could Tonga. Their team had no balance and so they fell at the most important hurdles. The NH doesn't just want scrums the NH wants to play rugby. Having said that if the short arm was accepted worldwide then there is a big chance that scrums could become so prevalent that they are just as useless. The only reason the NH is anti-ELVs is due to their mismanagement and the fact that quite a few of them are illogical. Btw... just to clarify. The average amount of tries scored under the ELVs in the recent 3N was 4.12 (or something similar... I worked it out but don't have the paper at hand). If one discounts the 07 3N due to the NZ conditioning window and the weakened team that White intentionally played, the average amount of tries scored in every 3N since 2000 is .... 4.12. Exactly the same number (whatever that may be) as under the ELVs.
Homer
Guest
"Professional rugby has developed so that risk is not a tangible option." If that is the case benjamin the game is over as a spectacle. If risk is removed then the game is nothing more than kick - set play - kick - set play. That style is as over as Johnny Wilkinson's international career. Cipriani is a good player because he takes a risk and backs himself, Burgess the same. The greatest players such as Cullen, Ella and Campo were all massive risk takers and backed the skills of their team to support them. As such counter attack rugby such as the All Black's pays off and wins. If you never take a risk then you are predictable and unless you are brilliantly so, will almost always lose. Care took a risk and 90m later a try was scored. He has amazing potential because of this unpredictability, the complete opposite of George Gregan who was completely predictable under the old style of complete ball retention for countles phases. That no longer works. If an offside player is taking up space then he is an obstacle to be used to shield against the defence. Worrying about the refs knowledge or interpretation will again lead to madness and overthinking. Go into the scrum thinking it will be a scrum contest. Wales faltered at the WC as the skill level wasn't up to the game plan, while the Fijians and PI's don't meet up to their capability on a global scene due to financial and logisitcal issues. The only time they get time together is at the Wc and even then they are massively restricted compared to other countries. Look at what Fiji is capable of when the do get together for that tournament. I do not agree that the tap and go was made redunadant, even if they were less prevalent as teams adapt to the laws doesn't that mean more scrums and attacking options? I thought this would make the NH very happy. Stats have already shown the improved importance of the scrum under the ELV's with more tries scored from that platform and more 1st phase across the advantage line from the set piece.
Benjamin
Guest
Homer, that same view was expressed physically by the players in the 3N when the tap and go option was basically made redundant by the end of the tournament. That is the nature of test rugby. I don't necessarily agree with Vickery's assessment in the context of rugby. In the pro. era Australia have always been very mechanical, Eddie Jones and his huge playbooks etc. Wales were knocked out of the WC because they tried to run everything likewise Fiji and the PIs have never hit the heights they are capable of. Professional rugby has developed so that risk is not a tangible option. I am all for running rugby and have wanted to see Care and Cipriani play together for months but without wanting to digress toward the ELVs I think that the short arm will never have the potential to succeed at top level rugby. "There are always 30 players all over the pitch, only when they are lined up in front of you are they a real problem, otherwise they are offside." That is true but the players are still taking up space. "Cycnicism of the defensive pack can be nulled by the skill of your own team to respond to situation, or at worst another paenalty by the ref and a yellow card for the bad guys." This is dependant on the ref being able to understand the scrum situation in the first place.
Homer
Guest
Bloody hell Benjamin, with that mentality why would you even kick off. There are no givens or confirmed results in rugby but you look at the risk/reward scenario and have a go. The way you are talking is what is the difference between NH and SH rugby I believe. Vickery actually sumned up the same view today when he said siomething like 'The English will look at a situation and whinge about it while the Australians will look at it and then plan how to overcome it.' that from the former English captain. I think Johnson et al have seen this and tried to adopt the same attitude, hence Care starting that amazing 90m try. There are always 30 players all over the pitch, only when they are lined up in front of you are they a real problem, otherwise they are offside. ref's can always make bad calls, but until they do don't prejudge them. Sports like Rugby and footbal are comepletley pointless if you run your strategy on what you think the ref may possibly do under a certain situation that may or may not happen, depending on what variations there are on an interpretation of law!?!? Cycnicism of the defensive pack can be nulled by the skill of your own team to respond to situation, or at worst another paenalty by the ref and a yellow card for the bad guys. Play the game in front of you, take the opportunities as presented and do not worry about what others could possibly do as that usually only happens in your mind.
Benjamin
Guest
Tap and go's became increasingly unpopular as the 3N progressed for various reasons. The 30 players are stretched all over the pitch and thus there wasn't a great deal of space. Further there is a high chance of turnover. If you take the scrum then the opposition defence get's the chance to reset and there is every chance that the ref might make a bad call on the scrum. Also there is an opportunity for cycnicism from the defensive pack. Taking scrums is fine but a lot depends on the interpretation of the ref and currently that is too big a risk. I can see the potential positives of this option but th IRB still haven't managed to get universal straight put-ins yet. In both cases there is the opportunity that the attacking team might not be justly rewarded. If a team takes the kick there is the chance of 2 and even if the kick is awry they will receive the kick return. Ultimately test rugby is a narrow, narrow arena. Points make prizes.
Homer
Guest
How could it not keep the pressure up. If you tap and go the opposition doesn't get the chance to realign the defence and will usually have several players backpedalling in an offside position, instantly you are on the front foot and in an overlap position if done well (unfortunately the Wallabies tend to get isolated). If you kcik for touch the opposition just gets the lineout and can relieve pressure. Alternately if you take the scrum then the opposition is 5m back and if you cannot cross the gain line and set up an attacking play you shouldn't be playing. Watching a team set a good scrum and use that base for an attacking backrow move or backline combo to score is 100 times more intersting than watching someone line up a kick for half the value. I would have thought that England and Wales would love this method of attack, especially with Wales great backrow including their new hard running No.8. I can also see Italy and Argentina getting good use out of these attacking scrums.
Benjamin
Guest
Homer, I'm not sure about the weight. I did watch the game and I am of the opinion that Johnstone struggled badly but you're right, the English scrum as a unit was pretty inconsistent. Regarding the short arm, by the end of the 3N teams had basically stopped taking tap and go's so how does it keep the pressure up.. or how would it have kept the pressure up?
Homer
Guest
Benjamin when I said kicking all day i meant the scoring. If you read my comment i did say that teh Wallaby game wasn't any good either with only a few tries and they were lucky at that. Also I actually supported the Welsh in their style of play. My point was that by resorting to shots at goal the game slows and becomes turgid. The benefit of the short arm rule is that Wales would have kept the pressure piling up on SA and would have broken the defence. Everytime they had a shot at goal SA got a breather and regathered. It was going to take a long time to kick the 20 points needed. Wales could get over a Wallabies team at the end of a long trip although several Wales players will out, having to play in the GP. The fact that France and Argentina games are always close does nothing to alleviate the fact that no tries were scored. Thee was some wonderful play towards the end of the game, although the lineouts were a mystery. I did not see the England game but all the reports i have read said the English scrum was not dominant and that Sheridan did not impose himself. Later stats reveal he made a fair bit of work in the tackles (15) and about nine carries which is pretty good. On Sheridan, I saw he is now about 118kg, possibly lighter than Baxter, wasn't he somewhere near 125kg last year?
ThelmaWrites
Guest
True Tah, the Azurris had tons of decoy running, and I saw a loop (I think). i thought, Woow. Re the camera shots: with so many long shots, I couldn't work out who was playing where. I got up and washed my glasses but that didn't help. Hoy, as I've posted in another forum, the classic in defensive communication was Australia v Wales in Cardiff in 1993. With Tim Horan and Jason Little as centers, Euan Evans and the newie wing Proctor couldn't get through. To everyone about Tamana Tahu: may I just dispute the orthodoxy, fostered since the time of Nathan "Kamikaze" Gray, that the job of the center is to breach the defensive wall, even at the cost of his life (well, some exaggeration there!). Australia has relied so much on this gambit to the exclusion (most of the time) of other attacking options. And to choose a player for this one-dimensional role is to court disaster. And strangely, tonight, I'm asking myself, what does Robbie Dean mean about "playing what's in front of you?" Do the players understand it? My eldest daughter (not DaniE) has already asked me twice, why is the rugby now so messy? I've said, well, it's those ELVs. But maybe it's something more.
Benjamin
Guest
His YouTubes are rather spectacular. Bizarre decision by Hart.
True Tah
Guest
Benjamin, I think as a player, Cullen was brilliant when running from broken play with space to move. Cullen was also immensely strong, he could bench over 150kg and would have weighted 90-95kg. At centre he had no space, and was suited to creating space either for himself or his outside men. I thought it was criminal that John Hart deprived rugby supporters seeing a truly great fullback at his peak for a longer time. Although my most famous memory of him is dropping the ball stone cold over the line in a Super rugby match against the Tahs!!!
Benjamin
Guest
Tah, Cullen went to Munster... played... got injured... played... got injured... retired. I think it's fair to say that Jim Williams was double the player for the Irish team than the Express.
Benjamin
Guest
Homer, France and Argentina games are always close. Likewise I don't remember the previous game between Italy and Australia being a try fest. I don't recall Wales kicking all day either. The Welsh team made 120 carries to SA's 68. The carries produced 549 metres to SA's 280 and 19 defenders were beaten in that process, to only 7 by SA. As I remember Wales ran quite a few free kicks in the 2nd half. Incidentally Sheridan gave Census Johnstone a torrid time in the scrum. If you don't like kicking then you're watching the wrong sport brother.
True Tah
Guest
TommyM, whatever happened to Christian Cullen...the worlds best fullback, John Hart moved him to centre which basically ended his rep career - did he ever go to play in England?
True Tah
Guest
Re: the Italians, I really noticed an improvement in their defence compared to the last time we played them, and their discipline improved...Sergio Parisse was their best forward, and he seemed all class. Its clear that Mallet is a better coach than John Kirwan. They must be a chance to knock over the Pumas. I hope Deans doesn't ever run effectively a second string side against a team like Italy ever again - if Italy had beaten or drawn with the Wallabies, it would have made redundant any progress made this year, regardless of the team on the paddock, and I really thought we could have been in for a loss. Having said that our scrum shored up pretty well, lineout, well given that the Italians didnt really have one, its not worth mentioning...I thought Italy's loosies outplayed ours. I thought the commentator was pretty average, I didn't realise Wycliff Palu was playing, I think he meant Sekope Kepu, and the camera shots, I dont think they had too many close up cameras, but I actually thought this was a better approach. Also why doesn't the FIR play 6 Nations games at Padova rather than Rome, it is as close as you're going to get to a heartland of Italian rugby (the northeast), and the Stadio Eugeno is bigger than Stadio Flaminio, the crowd were fired up for this one as well.
TommyM
Guest
I think to say that we shouldn't put in high kicks is a little simplistic. All of the best teams are employing this tactic, often to great effect. There are three reasons it has not been working for the Wallabies. 1. The kick chase is very poor and uncommitted, meaning there is rarely a genuine contest for the ball. 2. AAC has been consistently kicking them too far, meaning even if someone was chasing like bejesus, they couldn't get to it. I noticed in the Italian match that he actually seemed to be trying to remedy this- meaning that he vacillated between kicking too short (straight up and down on a few occasions) and too long. 3. Our forwards are not retreating (or at least looking like they're retreating), and thus giving away penalties for offside. 1 and 3 above should be very easy to fix. Regarding the depth of AAC's kicks- he has literally managed to get maybe 10% of these kicks at the optimal distance this year. If he can't master this skill, he can't continue at fullback- simple as that. He is a very strong runner, strong under the defensive high ball, and a good tackler. But great kicking is an essential ingredient for a 15, and he just doesn't seem to have it. As mentioned by someone else, I think Gerard and Shepherd are much better kickers, but not sure they are as strong in some of the other areas.... Not sure of the answer for now, but I suspect the future of 15 might involve James O'Connor- he has all these traits and from what I've seen of his running, could be the next Christian Cullen :-) PS Carn the Force...
Hoy
Guest
Melon, I think the same thing. It is a bit of an affront to the current players at Fullback that AAC is even playing there. Having said that, I suppose some experimentation is needed sometimes. Sometimes a good player is in the wrong position ala Larkham. I think the experiment with AAC should be stopped. ASAP. Or maybe just altered. He times in well from the back when we have the ball, but when it is kicked to him, he just chooses the wrong option, every single time. There was one game I was watching during the Tri Nations and the commentator joked "And Adam Ashley Cooper kicks it... for a change". He is not offering anything, and his kicks are atrocious. The options there... kick for a corner, run it, pass it, no, I think I will bomb it so it lands 5 metres in front of me, and all my players are offside. GRRRRR. So frustrating. Get Deans to tell him never ever bomb the bloody thing again.
Bring Back Melon
Guest
Hoy: Suggestions? I've posted elsewhere (and ad nauseum) that I'm sick of people being played out of position. My view is: pick the best fullback in Australia to play fullback for the Wallabies. If he isn't available, pick the 2nd best fullback, and so on. How AAC ended up there I don't know. All season I (and people more qualified to judge than I) thought it was between Gerrard and Shepherd. I know people have their beefs with these two but... they know how to play fullback. Having said that, it's probably too late now to introduce new players into the mix and we're therefore forced to play with what we've got. My vote would be Turner for fullback.
Homer
Guest
Benjamin, if you take out the Irish/Canada debacle then penalties were pretty dominant probably (without checking my facts). France and Argentina failed to touch down, Wales kicked all day and Italy and Australia kicked a mountain of penalties, five tries in three games is ordinary. In fact South Africa were very lucky to get two meat pies, as were the Wallabies. The AB's, England and Ireland scored tries but against inferior opposition. If Italy and Wales had chanced a run or two from a free kick I belive their opponents would have cracked, the SA especially were tiring noticably and the Welsh pace was fantastic. Someone lining up for goal is about as interesting as scrum resets, and following the press attack on the wallabies the crowd will believe that every collapse is the Wallabies fault, despite the English pack having struggled against the islanders.
Hoy
Guest
I agree with TheImaWrites about the try by the All Blacks when AAC clearly should have been marking the outside man as Ryan Cross was coming over. One thing I suppose we will never know is if the communication was there. Cross should have been yelling "I have ball" and then AAC should have moved over to the winger, which he did not do. One would think at that level, the communication was there. I don't rate AAC as a fullback. Time to look elsewhere. I am just sick of him kicking away possession with bad kicks that give the opposition possesion on half way. The kicks don't even have any point to them, just the old up and under. Everytime he gets it. I don't think he looked for an option to attack against the Itals did he? Certainly the polar opposite to Chris Latham, who we now realise is very irreplaceable.